Conveyor, particularly for hot materials

ABSTRACT

A conveyor, particularly adapted to convey hot materials. The conveyor includes a belt made up of a network of interconnected elongated members forming a flexible mesh. This belt forms a tractive component of the conveyor. A material-holding means is connected to the belt to be moved thereby and this materialholding means forms a material-carrying component of the conveyor. The material-holding means includes a plurality of material-holding elements distributed longitudinally along the belt and having only limited engagement therewith so as to achieve a high degree of thermal separation between the materialholding means and the belt. A connecting means connects the elements of the material-holding means to the belt and this connecting means has only a highly localized area of engagement with the belt and elements so that the high degree of thermal separation between the material-holding means and belt is maintained.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Paolo Magaldi Via Irno 505, Salerno,Italy [21] Appl. No. 783,878 [22] Filed Dec. 16, 1968 [45] Patented Jan.11, 1972 [54] CONVEYOR, PARTICULARLY FOR HOT MATERIALS 1 Clalm, 4Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 198/196 [51] 1nt.Cl B65g 17/10 [50] Field of Search ..193 95 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 500,521 6/1893 Wickers198/195 1,112,948 10/1914 Turnbull.. 198/196 1,354,553 10/1920Harter..... 198/195 1,756,598 4/1930 King 198/199 I V/A'A'I 2,123,8937/l938 Guba 2,255,364 9/1941 Pink 198/196 l98/l95X ABSTRACT: A conveyor,particularly adapted to convey hot materials. The conveyor includes abelt made up ofa network of interconnected elongated members forming aflexible mesh. This belt forms a tractive component of the conveyor. Amaterial-holding means is connected to the belt to be moved thereby andthis material-holding means forms a material-carrying component of theconveyor. The material-holding means includes a plurality ofmaterial-holding elements distributed longitudinally along the belt andhaving only limited engagement therewith so as to achieve a high degreeof thermal separation between the material-holding means and the belt. Aconnecting means connects the elements of the material-holding means tothe belt and this connecting means has only a highly localized area ofengagement with the belt and r elements so that the high degree ofthermal separation between the material-holding means and belt ismaintained.

'! WA /A WM A' A A IA"IA'IA\'IA I AVA PATENTEDJANI 1 1972 3,633,737

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INVENTOR PA0L0' MA WILD! ORNEY$ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention, in particular, relates to conveyors which are adapted toconvey relatively hot materials such as slag or other waste materialencountered in foundries, hot clinkers of ash, or other similar materialfrom furnaces, coke, hot casting sand, and the like.

Known conveyors adapted to handle materials of this type are generallymade of layers of canvas covered with artificial or synthetic rubber.Such conveyors are incapable of withstanding temperatures above 340 F.,and in addition they are incapable of withstanding momentary,substantially instantaneous peaks of temperature on the order of 390 F.Such conveyors when subjected to relatively high strain suddenly fail,the failure taking place by snapping or breaking of the belt completelyacross its width, so that the result is a requirement of completeshutdown causing production losses which in many cases amount to severaltens of thousands of dollars.

It has already been proposed to provide conveyor belts of the abovegeneral type made of steel. Such endless steel belts, however, have alsoproven to be unsatisfactory and have been discarded. The primary reasonfor the failure of the steel belts is that they are subjected to thermaldeformations resulting from the temperature of the conveyed material. Inthe same way metallic conveyors composed of linked pivotallyinterconnected plates carried by relatively heavy chains have not provento be satisfactory because they are extremely expensive to install andoperate and because they are only relatively safe while they are new.These conveyors include a large number of mechanical components whichconstantly move relative to each other, providing a source of frequenttrouble which results in almost constant maintenance of such belts, sothat they do not provide a satisfactory solution to the problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a conveyor which will solve the aboveproblems.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a conveyorcapable of handling materials which have relatively high temperatureswhile at the same time completely eliminating the drawbacks of the knownconveyors which are designed to accomplish the same results.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a conveyorwhich is of a relatively simple and inexpensive construction, requiringvery little if any maintenance, while at the same time capable ofefficiently carrying hot materials.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a conveyorwhich has a construction capable of achieving a high degree of thermalseparation between the component of the conveyor which carries theconveyed material and the component thereof which provides the tractionfor the materialcarrying component.

In addition, it is an object of the conveyor to provide a conveyor ofthe above general type which can continue to operate effectively evenif, for example, a material-carrying element should break away from theconveyor.

Also, it is an object of the invention to provide a conveyor which isendless and of sufficient flexibility to extend around a roller whichmay, for example, have a diameter of only 4 inches or less.

The conveyor of the invention includes a belt composed of a network ofelongated elements which are interconnected so as to form a flexiblemesh. A material-holding means includes a plurality of material-holdingelements distributed longitudinally along the belt and a connectingmeans connects the elements of the material-holding means to the belt.The belt forms a tractive component of the conveyor while thematerial-holding means forms the carrying component of the conveyor, andthe material-holding means has only a limited engagement with the beltso as to maintain in this way a high degree of thermal separationbetween the material-holding means and the belt. The connecting meansalso occupies only limited highly localized areas so as to maintain thethermal separation between the material-holding means and the belt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings which form part of this applicationand in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic illustration of part of an endlessflexible belt of the conveyor of the invention, FIG. 1 also showing theconnecting means used for connecting the belt to the material-holdingmeans;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary transverse elevation schematically illustratingthe conveyor and showing how the material-holding means is connected tothe belt;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective illustration of the manner in whichelements of the material-holding means overlap and coact with eachother;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary schematic longitudinal section illustrating inmore detail how the material-holding means is connected to the belt.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, the beltof the invention is fragmentarily illustrated therein. lt will beunderstood that this belt is of an elongated endless configuration andis in the form of a network of metal elements interconnected to form themesh illustrated in FIG. 1. The elements which form the belt 3 indicatedin FIG. 1 are in the form of steel wire 1 and transverse rods 4. Thesewire elements of the belt 3 are subjected to heat treatment in suitablefurnaces so as to be capable of withstanding extremely hightemperatures. The belt 3 has connected thereto by way of connectingmeans 9, a material-holding means 2 composed of overlapping metal platesof substantially trapezoidal configuration also made of steel. Theplates which form the elements of the material-holding means 2 canoverlap each other to an extent on the order of 50 percent or one-halftheir width extending longitudinally of the belt so as to form in thisway a continuous channel in which the mate rial can be held and carried.

Thus, the network which forms the belt 3 can be made of stainless steelor other metals and it is composed of the series of transverse rods 4which are distributed longitudinally along the belt and which are ofcircular cross section as is apparent from FIG. 4. The wires 1 arelooped around the rods 4 in the manner indicated in FIG. 1. Thus, eachwire 1 is looped around a pair of adjoining rods 4, and the next wire 1is looped around the same rod which is connected to the preceding wire 1as well as the next following rod 4. The ends of a given wire 1 will befixed, as by welding, to the ends of a rod 4, while being looped aroundthe next rod 4, so that in this way each unit composed of a rod and awire looped around the next rod is freely swingable about the latterrod. While the wires 1 are shown in the form of oppositely directedinclined loops extending around the successive rods, they can bedesigned so as to form straight meshes. Because of the hingedinterconnection of the rod and wire units one to the next, they arecapable of automatically adjusting themselves to rolls of even extremelysmall diameter.

The elements of the material-holding means are in the form of theoverlapping plates shown most clearly in FIG. 3 and made of steel also.These elements of the material-holding means 2 have opposed ends 7directed away from the belt 3, and between the ends 7 each of theelements of the materialholding means has a trapezoidal configuration.Thus, each element has an elongated edge region 6 which is somewhatnarrower than the opposed elongated edge region 5 these edge regionsextending transversely across the belt. Moreover, the elements arearranged with their edge regions 5 extending beneath the edge regions 6to have the overlapping partially internested arrangement illustrated inFIG. 3 with the edge 8 of one plate situated beneath the narrower edgeregion 6 of the next plate so that in this way the ends 7 of one platecan be situated between the ends 7 of an immediately preceding plate andoutside of the ends 7 of the immediately following plate. As wasindicated above, with this arrangement it is possible to provide anoverlap of the plates which is on the order of 50 percent, so that evenif one of the plates should happen to break away for any reason theremaining plates will be capable of efficiently carrying a material evenif the latter is of the consistency of dust, for example.

Although the elements of the material-holding means 2 are preferably oftrapezoidal configuration. they may also have other shapes. Theseelements are capable of being pressed to the required configuration andthey are made of metal such as carbon or stainless steel, although othermaterials also can be used. The width of the plate elementslongitudinally of the belt will be determined by the diameter of therolls. The plates are free to expand in all directions, so that whenhandling extremely hot materials the expansion of the plates will nothave any undesirable effects. Inasmuch as the plates are made of steel,they are extremely good heat conductors and the dimensions are such thatthe temperature to which the plates are heated is considerably less thanthe material carried thereby.

The connecting means 9 which serves to connect the elements of thematerial-holding means 2 to the belt 3 includes the substantiallyU-shaped steel elements 9 shown in the drawings. These elements 9 aredistributed in the manner indicated in FIG. 1. Thus, the connectingelements 9 extend around the rods 4 and are distributed therealong sothat the several elements 9 are spaced at considerable distances fromeach other. They are fixed in any suitable way to the plates of thematerial-holding means 2. For example, these plates may be formed withopenings through which ends of the elements 9 extend, and these ends maybe welded to the plates, after which the projected welded portions areground off so as to give the plates a smooth surface to receive thematerial which is to be carried. However, suitable bolts or otherfasteners may be used. In fact, bolts are preferred in the case wherethe runs of the belt extend substantially vertically and the elements ofthe material-holding means are in the form of buckets acting as anelevator for the conveyed material.

The wires 1 may be of the same diameter and cross section as the rods 4.Because of the circular cross section of the elements which make up thebelt 3, the extent of contact between the plates of the material-holdingmeans 2 and the elements of the belt 3 are only minimal. Because of thisextremely small degree of direct contact between the material-carryingcomponent and the tractive component of the conveyor of the invention,there is a very high degree of thermal separation between thematerial-holding means 2 and the belt 3, and because of the meshconstruction of the belt there is also a free circulation of ventilatingair all around the components so that the extent of heat transferbetween the material-holding means 2 and the belt 3 and, of course, fromthe latter to the rolls or drums is extremely small. It is to be notedthat the connecting means 9 also provides only a highly localized areaof contact between the material-holding means 2 and the belt 3, so thatthe high degree of thermal separation between the tractive and carryingcomponents of the conveyor of the invention is maintained by theconnecting means 9. Thus, with this extremely small contact between thecomponents of the conveyor and the free ventilation throughout thecomponents of the conveyor there is practically no heat transmission tothe rolls and drums of the conveyor.

The belt or tractive component, even when made of steel wire having adiameter of 0.060 inch and having a tensile strength of 80,000 p.s.i.with 75 meshes per foot has been found to be capable of withstanding astrain as great as that which can be borne by a l0-ply rubberized beltof conventional construction. However, the belt of the invention is farsimpler, far less expensive, and far more efficient in its operation andcan easily curve around a roll having a diameter of only 4 inches orless, approximately. If desired, however, it is possible to use a steelwire which is even more resistant to the stresses and which can reachany desired safety factor.

The dimensioning and configuration of the plates IS such as to preventany substantial transmission of heat to the network of the belt which inany event is equipped to withstand high temperatures. The plates of thematerial-holding means can be given any desired shape, and if desiredcross strips may be added to permit the conveyor to operate even underconditions where steep inclinations are encountered.

In actual practice a belt constructed according to the invention hasbeen capable of efficiently handling materials the temperature of whichapproaches 1,850 F.

I claim:

1. In a conveyor, an elongated belt formed of a network of elongatedelements interconnected to provide a flexible mesh, said belt formingtractive component of the conveyor, material-holding means forming acarrying component of the conveyor and including a plurality ofmaterial-holding elements distributed longitudinally along said belt andhaving only limited engagement therewith, said material-holding elementshaving surfaces directed toward said mesh and almost entirely exposed tothe outer atmosphere to provide a high degree of thermal separationbetween said material-holding elements and said belt, and connectingmeans connecting said elements to said belt only at highly localizedwidely separated areas to maintain the high degree of thermal separationbetween said elements of said material-holding means and said belt, saidbelt including a plurality of elongated metal rods extendingtransversely of said belt and distributed longitudinally therealong anda plurality of wire members looped around said rods to form said networktherewith, said rods and wires all being of circular cross section, andsaid connecting means including substantially U-shaped members extendingaround said rods, distributed longitudinally therealong, and fixed tosaid elements of said material-holding means.

1. In a conveyor, an elongated belt formed of a network of elongatedelements interconnected to provide a flexible mesh, said belt formingtractive component of the conveyor, materialholding means forming acarrying component of the conveyor and including a plurality ofmaterial-holding elements distributed longitudinally along said belt andhaving only limited engagement therewith, said material-holding elementshaving surfaces directed toward said mesh and almost entirely exposed tothe outer atmosphere to provide a high degree of thermal separationbetween said material-holding elements and said belt, and connectingmeans connecting said elements to said belt only at highly localizedwidely separated areas to maintain the high degree of thermal separationbetween said elements of said material-holding means and said belt, saidbelt including a plurality of elongated metal rods extendingtransversely of said belt and distributed longitudinally therealong anda plurality of wire members looped around said rods to form said networktherewith, said rods and wires all being of circular cross section, andsaid connecting means including substantially Ushaped members extendingaround said rods, distributed longitudinally therealong, and fixed tosaid elements of said material-holding means.